Update on reunion in Butte weekend of July 20 – 23
The 2015 reunion was based at the Finlen Hotel, an old restored hotel in downtown Butte built in 1899. It also has an attached motor hotel. All rooms have air conditioning and free WiFi. Thanks to Bill Fritz the hotel has agreed to provide a large private room, free of charge, for group activities. There is no food in the hotel but a number of eating possibilities are nearby. If you still haven’t made a reservation and want to stay at the Finlen, please register soon.
There are other lodging possibilities in the area, some of which have more amenities. If you want to stay elsewhere, you need to reserve rooms soon. The weeks before and after ours are very busy in Butte..
I have laid out a tentative schedule for the reunion outlined below.
Friday, July 20 – Arrival day.
Bill Fritz recommends either Missoula or Bozeman as arrival airports. They are both about 2 hours drive from Butte and have many more flights available than Butte.
5:00 – 7:00 PM Arrival dinner.
If anyone wants to have a group arrival dinner we could use the function room at the Finlen, but it might be simplest just to eat at a restaurant. Since arrival times are going to be variable, I won’t make specific plans unless there is a groundswell of interest.
Saturday, July 21 – Butte Exploration Day.
All Day
Butte had many attractions to visit but the one that we plan to feature is a visit to the World Museum of Mining. It’s located on site of the Orphan Girl Mine, where our patriarch, William Hampton Fritz, lived and worked at the end of his career. During my childhood we used to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Fritz at the mine so it has special memories. The museum features a pair of underground tours of the old Orphan Girl mine, one to the 65 foot deep level and a new one to the 100 foot deep level. This was a favorite of 2015 attendees, who may want to try the new 100 foot level tour. If we have advance notice of interest we can schedule a tour for group attendees only. Other attractions include the Berkeley Pit mine, Butte Trolley tours, the Copper King Mansion (tours by appointment), Our Lady of the Rockies memorial among other possibilities.
Bill Fritz is going to take care of reservations for the Orphan Girl Mine underground tours and will send out an email shortly. Bill has been enormously helpful in making local arrangements for us. Thanks, Bill, for all your support.
I’d like to have a dinner together at the Finlen Hotel where we can serve pasties from a local restaurant. It will tentatively be in the Finlen Hotel function room mentioned above. Time TBA but probably around 6:00 PM.
Sunday, July 22 – Centenary Celebration Day
Time TBA Memorial Mass
We plan to have a Mass celebrated in Dad’s name at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, details TBA. It may be an evening Mass.
2:00 – 6:00 PM Picnic at nearby park. Details TBA.
Monday, July 23 Open
This day is open so far. Some may head home on Monday, some may want to see Butte attractions not done Saturday or even leave Butte for other Montana attractions. If there is interest in group activities I will be happy to coordinate.
Summary
We will be having the reunion July 20 – 23, 2018.
Please continue to check out this Fritz family blog. It has some interesting stories from family lore and a page to provide updates on the reunion as planning goes forward. This site will allow us to exchange comments on the reunion and new family stories. If you post comments I will have to authorize them before they are posted. I don’t plan to censor anyone, but that’s the way the blog works.
If this method doesn’t work feel free to email me at [email protected] or text me at 443-745-4109 with comments, ideas, etc.